


Breathing Fluid

by frostedlemonade



Series: Cancer Universe [1]
Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-03 05:00:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16319597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frostedlemonade/pseuds/frostedlemonade
Summary: Jonny Frost, Joker's main lackey and only friend isn't breathing so well lately while mixed up in a love triangle between Joker and his unfortunate mistress Adeline.





	1. The Tests

It was raining the day Jonny went to the doctor for the first time in years. He had been feeling under the weather for quite some time. Sure, he smoked three packs a day but the wheezing and shortness of breath had taken a toll on his job and the headaches effected his ability to focus. It was a small clinic in the southern part of Gotham that charged a thirty dollar copay with his insurance. Jonny's pink button down shirt was two tone from the rain when he entered the clinic. He paused in the entrance way to read their notice: "If you are experiencing any flu like symptoms please wear a mask" and they had a bunch of medical masks hanging up on a peg. With a gravely sigh he opened the inner door and entered the sterile clinic space. A few people looked up from their magazines to see who had entered but he payed them no mind as he stepped up to the glass window to talk to the receptionist.  
"I called an hour ago about copay?" He says to the receptionist. "I need to see a doctor, I'm a new patient." He added when she seemed to be unaware of his call.  
"Oh!" She smiled and clipped a few stapled forms to a clip board and passed it to him under the glass. "Fill these out and we'll need your ID and insurance card to scan." Nodding Jonny pulls out his wallet and slides her the necessary cards. Taking the clipboard and a pen he sits down to fill out the forms. When he was done he turned in the clipboard and turned his attention to the weather channel playing on a flat screen television in the corner of the waiting room. Apparently they were going to have rain for a few days. After a few moments Jonny stood and told the receptionist that he was going to pop outside to smoke a cigarette. The familiar comfortable inhale and exhale of the toxic chemicals in the cold downpour set Jonny at ease. In two minutes he was done and entered the clinic again. Having smoked under the overhang he managed not to get soaked. Sitting back down he watched commercials for a while before he was called back.  
"If you would please step onto the scale." The nurse asked; Jonny weighed out 189 pounds. In the exam room she took his temperature, blood pressure and oxygen levels. Frowning at the read of his oxygen she looked to him. "Smoker, huh?" She assumed from the smell of cigarette coming off of him.  
"Yeah," He replies with a nod. "I smoke about three packs a day." He confesses. The nurse nods and turns to the computer in the room. Entering in some data she asks him a course of questions. "Alright, why are you here today?" She asks.  
"Well, I noticed I have some wheezing in my chest and shortness of breath. Not to mention some really intense headaches at least twice a day that Tylenol does nothing to fix." He shares. The keypad to the computer tapped away as she paraphrased everything Jonny was saying. "Alright, the doctor will be in to see you in a few." She says, standing.  
Left in the silent, small, boring room with nothing to do except read a magazine or play a game on his phone Jonny pulled out his cell phone and unlocked the screen. Opening up his Smash game he plays it for a while until the doctor knocks on the door. Pocketing his cell phone then he smiles at the doctor.  
"Hi, my name is Dr. Eliajah." The doctor introduced, extending his hand for a handshake. "I understand you are having some difficulty breathing." He says, looking over the information on the screen. Then, putting his stethoscope to his ears he wheels over and puts the drum on Jonny's chest to listen. "Yeah, you're awfully noisy in there." He nods. "You're oxygen level was low." He observes from the computer. "How bad are the headaches?" He asks.  
"Like a seven or eight. They last for about an hour." Jonny replies.  
"Alright, here's what we're going to do. We're going to refer you to get an MRI, prescribe you an inhaler. What I'm concerned about is that you might have COPD. That's Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, which means that part of your lung is not deflating, making you short of breath. We need to run more tests to be sure though. For now I'll prescribe you with albuteral. After you have the MRI call and schedule another appointment to go over the results." The doctor explains. Nodding Jonny shakes the doctors hand again before he leaves the room.  
Moments later he is in the Escalade driving to the house on Apollo street. It stressed him out that he didn't really get an definitive answer about what ailed him. Tossing a cigarette butt to the wet grass he unlocks the front door and enters the house. Adeline, Joe's girl, was just walking down the stairs as Jonny entered the house.  
"Oh, hey Jonny. Where were you?" She asks with a friendly tone. That was one thing about Adeline, Joker could have just beaten her up and she would still manage a decent tone. From the looks of it they had a fight while Jonny was out. Picking up the living room side table and the lamp that had fallen off of it Jonny gives her a passive anser.  
"Out." He shrugs. He wasn't ready to share any information with anyone since what information he had was limited and may not even be what ailed him. "You okay?" He asks, noticing her fat lip.  
"Yeah, I'll be fine." She shrugged. "Joe went out." She adds, leaning against the wall and examining her nails. "He probably won't be back for a couple hours..." She leads on, giving Jonny a knowing glance. Things were complicated between Adeline and Joe, he wanted her but she didn't want him. Her eyes were set on Jonny.  
"Oh?" Jonny remarks, picking up the cup and coaster that had fallen off the side table when it was knocked over. Pushing off the wall Adeline puts a hand on his shoulder and smoothes it across his back. Positioning herself against his body she kissed him, testing his mood before deepening the kiss. Jonny obliged but muttered through the kiss: "What about Keith and Dan?"  
"They're out working." She whispers, kissing his jaw and then neck. Goosebumps of arousal rose down his arms and back and he kissed her back. His hands came up to his shirt collar and he began to unbutton his damp shirt, kicking off his shoes as he worked. They had to do it quickly so not to get caught and he didn't want to waste any time. Helping Adeline out of her shirt and his fingers going to her jeans button and zipper they collapsed into the couch and made love.  
"Damn..." Jonny laughed as he sat up and fished out his cigarettes from his discarded pants. His heart was still racing and breath still a bit labored as he stood up and pulled his pants back on, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips. Adeline grabbed the lighter and held it to his cigarette. "Thanks, babe." He says, caressing her face. After a few puffs he pulls back on his pink button down and starts buttoning it up. Adeline pulls on her clothes, too and turns on the television.  
"Joe's on television." She says as if it were no surprise to her. Jonny sat down and ashed his cigarette before looking at the news. A high speed car chase through Gotham.  
"Damn, what's got his underwear in a bunch?" Jonny scoffs as he watches his boss run a red light and narrowly miss being collided with by a big tanker. He hoped Joe got caught,, then he would be able to express his love for Adeline freely without repercussions from him. Puffing on his cigarette as he watched the helicopter feed follow Joe through upper Gotham he laughed as he made two police cars collide with each other. Three blocks later Joe ran over a strip of spikes that deflated his tires and caused him to crash into a cafe. Police cars surround him and it's seconds before Joker was being tazed by three officers. "Well, that's unfortunate." He says out of habit. He knew now he would have to organize a jail break for his boss, but what was a little bit of time to himself? "Guess we have a little bit of breathing room now." He says to Adeline with a smile. He reaches out for her hand and runs his thumb over it before Dan busts into the house with a thirty pack of Rolling Rock. "Boss just got caught." He tells his fellow lackey.  
"Awe shit." Dan groans, his shoulders dropping. "Keith! Joe got caught again!" He calls over his shoulder to the Scottsman that was still climbing the stone steps of the porch.  
"Ach, really!?" He groans, carrying two handfuls of grocery bags. They all knew what had to be done.  
"Yeah, I figured we'd let him sit it out for a week before we finally broke him out. Maybe that'd teach him to be a bit less reckless with his crimes." Jonny says with a laugh, it got stiff laughter from the other two men. They hated doing it but they all were tired of breaking him out. This time would the the fourth time that year, and it was only May.  
Adeline rubbed her arm where a bruise was healing from where Joe grabbed her a bit too roughly and frowned. She wished they could just leave him in there for his duration but deep down she knew that would just be the worst option out of the few they had. Standing she heads to the kitchen to grab a Dr. Pepper before Keith gets busy putting the groceries away.  
While Adeline was out of the room Jonny got a call from the MRI clinic and he scheduled an appointment for the day after next. Happy with getting in to be imaged so soon he takes out another cigarette and lights it up. Sucking in the aroma of Winston full flavors he kicks his feet up on the coffee table and grabs the television remote to change the channel. Finding The Matrix on FX he turned the volume up and relaxed as he watched one of his all time favorite movies. Adeline sat on the opposite end of the couch but had her feet stretched out touching Jonny's leg; it was a subtle way for them to cuddle.  
"Hey bud, how you feeling?" Dan asks Jonny as he hands him a Rolling Rock bottle.  
"Oh, I'm doing good." He nods, even though he knew he wasn't. Jonny was always the silver lining type of guy, an optimist. Cracking open his beer he takes a swig and then tips his head at Dan. "You doin' okay, Dan?" He asks.  
"Yeh, yep...can't complain." He smiles, taking another drink of his beer; it was already half way empty. "Check to see if the game is on." He requests when the commercials came on, and Jonny obliged. After a few moments of watching the game and checking the scores he flipped it back to The Matrix. "Wouldn't it be so weird if we were all in a computer program." Doug says, taking off his shoes. "Like the Sims or something. I bet we all have fourth dimensional gems above our heads for the tasks we're doing." He laughs.  
"Nngh," Jonny grunts in response. He didn't like to think about that possibility too much because then he got delusional that it was real and he did risky things. Finishing his beer he stands to take it to the kitchen and get another one but falters. Shrugging it off he stands again and takes a moment to let the dizziness subside before taking off to the kitchen. While in the kitchen a massive headache rocks his world, a high pitched screech could be heard in his head and the lights became too intense. Sitting down in a chair he closes his eyes and tucks his head down against his arms on the table and sits there for a while hoping to God that the headache would just go away. He felt nauseous, suddenly getting another beer didn't sound too good. He wanted to go to bed. After ten minutes of the headache not going away he rises and walks down the hallway. "I'm going to bed. Try to be quiet." He says to his friends in the living room.  
"Are you okay?" Adeline asks over her shoulder.  
"Yeh, yeah, I'm fine. Just...tired." He dismisses his problem and climbs the stairs. Out of breath at the top of them he wheezes as he makes his way to the bedroom that was his.

When the day of his MRI came he dressed down in sweat pants and a simple graphic t-shirt, making sure to leave anything with metal on or in it in the car, including his cell phone and locked his car keys up in the locker in the dressing room. Laying down on the table and getting situated in the machine he looked to the technician.  
"Not much room to breathe in here." He says with some anxiety. It felt like the machine was crushing him and he couldn't get a good breath.  
"Yeah, are you going to be okay for the duration of the scan?" She asks.  
"How long is it?" He asks.  
"About forty five minutes." She replies, "Would you like some music or ear plugs? The machine will make knocking noises and they can get pretty loud." She explains.  
"Some music would be nice." He admits.  
"Okay, do you have a favorite radio station you'd like to hear?" She asks.  
"Uh, yeah. 107.5." He replies, giving her the station that played rock and roll and some new hits. Once he was all settled and the station was playing she exited the room and began the scan.  
When the forty-five minutes were up Jonny couldn't wait to gasp a good breath. As soon as he was unloaded out of the machine he took a big breath and clutched his sore chest. Sitting up and taking a moment to breathe Jonny looks up to the technician.  
"How did they look?" He asks.  
"Oh, I don't look at the scans. I'm not a doctor. I can't tell you anything about your scans." She says. "You drive safe, okay?" She says as Jonny grabs his car keys and heads out to the Escalade. Once making it home Jonny takes a few minutes in the car to make his next appointment before getting out and heading inside.  
"Hey," Adeline calls out from the kitchen. "I'm making some sandwiches would you like one?" She asks, sipping her Dr. Pepper.  
"Oh, sure. I'll have one with chicken and pastrami." He orders as he walks down the hall and into the kitchen. Taking a seat at the table he pulls out his Winston cigarettes and lights one up. "What have you been up to today?" He asks her.  
"Oh, nothing really. Read a little, cleaned a little, sat out back for a little." She shrugs. "Just boring stuff." She laughs. "How about you? Where have you been?" She inquires.  
"I had an MRI scan done." He admits, and then immediately gave Adeline a palm down gesture. "Calm down everything is going to be okay." He assures her. "Just OCPD most likely." He says. "I'll probably have to quit smoking and be on inhalers is all. I looked it up." He smiles, trying to remain optimistic. "Thank you for the sandwich. Where are Keith and Dan?" He asks.  
"They're out back in the garage. We were all out there hanging out and Keith is working on his dirt bike some more." She explains.  
"When is he ever going to be done with that thing?" Jonny laughs.  
"Never, probably." Adeline laughs with him before taking another sip of her Dr. Pepper. Standing Jonny grabs a Mello Yello out of the fridge and snaps it open to take a drink. "Well, I'll be upstairs in my room." He says, giving her a slight nudge with his elbow; his secret way of telling her he loved her. Adeline stole a cheek kiss before he got too far away and laughed.  
"Don't be a stranger." She calls out as he heads up the hallway.


	2. The Results

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonny learns his days are numbered.

It was early in the morning on Tuesday when Jonny got a call a doctor clinic.  
"Dr. Elijah would like for you to come in as soon as possible for a lung biopsy." The woman on the phone says, a tone of urgency to her voice. "I have a Wednesday at ten am available. Would you be able to make the appointment?" She asks. Jonny groans and sits up. Shaking out a cigarette he puts it to his lips and then strikes his lighter.   
"Uh, yeah..." He exhales the smoke from his lungs. "Wednesday at ten am?" He asks her to confirm.  
"Yes, that would be at the hospital outpatient surgery ward. At ten am on Wednesday." She says specifically.  
"Oh." He says, only just now becoming aware of the severity she was hinting at. "Should I fast? Is there a special scrub I should use before the biopsy?" He asks, puffing on his cigarette.  
"Just make sure you're clean before you show up." She says. "You shouldn't eat anything after midnight Tuesday night." She tells him.  
"Oh, okay. I'll be there." He says.  
"Okay, good. See you then, Mr. Frost." When the call was over he sat there inhaling and exhaling the smoke from his lungs for a long silence. Rubbing sleep out of his eyes he ruffles his hair and then A biopsy meant some kind of growth in his lungs. Did he have cancer? This immediately made him put out his cigarette halfway finished and pull on his pants. He tried to shrug it off and not think too much of it for the rest of the day. After all, a biopsy could mean more than just cancer. Right? He refrained from Googling it to make sure he didn't freak himself out. Maybe it was nothing. Tying up his boots he stands and changes his shirt before heading to the kitchen to start cooking breakfast.   
At first he was the only one awake, listening to the sound of the coffee pot gurgling and bubbling out its rich black liquid into the carafe. As he mixed the precise measurements out for his waffle mix he felt peace. He liked things being measurable. It was comforting to him. You put stuff in and get a measured outcome back. That was how things were for Jonny. Feeling risky he added in chocolate chips and then spooned the first waffle onto the iron. Closing it he found himself lighting another cigarette and and drawing smoke from it into his lungs. Inhale. Exhale and repeat. Staring at the coffee pot Jonny grabbed a mug and stole a cup from the machine. Sipping the hot liquid he sets the coffee down and then pulled out sausages from the fridge.  
The first one awake was Adeline. She walked softly and came up behind Jonny for a cup of coffee. "Hey, is anyone else awake?" She asks, adding French Vanilla creamer to her coffee.  
"Not yet." Jonny replies, laying sausages down on a hot skillet. "Just me and you." He says softly, he can't help but have his mind circle back around to the call that woke him up.  
"Sleep good, honey?" She asks, rubbing a hand up and down his arm.  
"Ah, yeah..." He sighs, sipping his coffee. "I slept about as good as I can." He says, resting back against the counter with a frown. Something clearly was bothering him.  
"Something up, hon?" She asks, sipping her coffee.  
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." He dismisses. "Just some personal stuff." He shakes his head and pushes the sausages around on the pan. Nodding in understanding Adeline took a seat at the table and minded her own business. "So...did you sleep okay?" Jonny asks after a long uncomfortable silence.  
"Not really." She sighs, raking a hand through her hair. "It was strange sleeping alone." She admits.  
"Well, we'll have Joker out in a few weeks." Jonny assures her, even though he knew that she didn't want to hear that sentence.  
"I wish I could sleep with you." She frowns, sipping her coffee.  
"I know," Jonny sighs, rubbing at his morning stubble. "But we can't risk it." He frowns, sipping his coffee.  
"I know, a girl can still wish, though." She sighs. Dan was the next one awake, shuffling into the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee he nods and says a gruff 'morning' before heading to the living room to watch morning news. Next was Keith, coming in from the back door.  
"Aye yeh mates." The Scottsman says as he pours himself a cup of coffee and adds his sugar free vanilla creamer to it. Sitting down next to Adeline he elbows her arm and nods a good morning to her. "Yeh sleep gu'd?" He asks Adeline.  
"Mmhmm," She nods, focusing on her coffee.  
"What yeh makin'?" Keith asks Jonny.  
"Waffles and sausage and scrambled eggs." Jonny answers, flipping the sausages and putting a new waffle in the waffle iron.   
"Ach," Keith nods, sipping his coffee. "That's wholesome." He smiles.  
After breakfast Jonny sat on the porch swing on the back porch smoking a cigarette with Adeline. Lazily swinging the swing he sighed out smoke and scrubbed his face with his free hand. He couldn't get over thinking about what a lung biopsy might mean. Maybe it just meant that he had some unusual stuff in his lungs that they wanted to check for cancer. It always came back to cancer. Frowning he sighs again and rakes a hand through his hair.  
"What's wrong?" Adeline asks, looking to him she chews her lip. She'd never known Jonny to be so worrisome.  
"Oh, it's nothing." Jonny assures Adeline with a warm smile, but there was a sadness in his eyes. "I'm sure it's nothing." He says, puffing on his cigarette he ashes it and sways the swing forward and back. "Just...some doctor stuff." He says.  
"Are you okay?" She asks, concern feigning on her features.  
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He nods with a sure sound in his voice. "It's nothing." He assures her, always the optimist.  
When Wednesday came around Jonny woke up early and made coffee cake for the house before leaving to his biopsy appointment. Leaving the coffee cake on the table with a note that read: Be back after noon. He drove to the hospital and smoked a few cigarettes before going in.  
"Hi, I'm Jonny Frost I'm here for a lung biopsy." He says to the receptionist. She nodded and clipped some papers to a clipboard before handing them to him.  
"Fill these out and bring them back." She instructed. Jonny sat down with the papers and filled them out as best as he could. He'd had many surgeries for gunshot wounds at the house by their concierge doctor Dr. McGreggor but he wasn't sure if he should list that. Deciding it was best to be honest he filled out the rest of the form and then stood to turn the papers in. "Thank you, they'll be with you shortly." She says. "You can have a seat." She tells him and a few minutes later she comes out to give him a hospital bracelet and then a red one for penicillin allergy.  
After the biopsy Jonny returns to the SUV and smokes a cigarette before starting the vehicle and heading to the grocery store. Buying some shells and cheese and a few fresh vegetables he plans out having burgers for dinner. Stopping by the deli he buys some more lunch meat and then heads for the registers. Buying two more packs of cigarettes he gets in the SUV and heads home. Carrying in the groceries he puts them away before sitting down in the living room to watch some television. Absentmindedly he lights up a smoke and puffs away.  
"Where ya been?" Adeline asks from the stairs as she comes down with her hair wrapped in a towel.  
"Oh, out..." He replies, still keeping his medical history private. "I had an appointment and then I went to the store. I'm making burgers tonight." He shares.  
"I love your burgers." Adeline says cheerfully. "You're a really good cook, Jonny." She smiles as she sits down next to him on the couch and rubs his thigh. "Jonny..." She says softly. "You'd tell me if something bad was happening, wouldn't you?" She asks, knowing how private he was and how he was always the optimist.  
"What?" He scoffs and laughs as if this attitude was news to him. "Of course." He laughs a bit more and then breaks out into a coughing fit. He'd been having them for months. "'Scuse me..." he says, clearing his throat. "Of course I would." He assures her.  
"Good, cause...I don't know what I'd do without you." She frowns. "You've been having these coughing fits for a while now." She says, brows cresting.  
"The doctor said I have COPD, I'm on an inhaler for it." He says, then pulls out the red albuterol inhaler from his coat pocket beside him and shakes it. He had forgotten he had it. Inhaling two puffs of it he smiles at Adeline. "See, all better." He says, and then sets it down on the table.  
"Maybe you should cut down on your smoking." She says, looking to the over flowing ashtray. "You smoke like a chimney." She frowns.  
"Maybe you should mind your own business." He snaps, turning the volume of the show up a bit more. Mouth dropping open Adeline scoffs and sits back roughly.  
"You don't have to be a jerk about it. I'm just concerned about you." She says back a bit sharply. She felt hurt. She cared a lot about Jonny and all she saw in him right now was fear and selfishness.  
"Sorry," he mumbles back after a few moments of uncomfortable silence from them both. "I'm just...worried it's not COPD." He admits. "I had a biopsy today." He shares.  
"Oh, Jonny..." she coos, turning to face him.  
"Yeah," he sighs and wheezes a bit. "But we don't know what it is yet. So...don't get emotional." He says.  
Two days later Jonny gets the call to come in and go over the results. The next Monday he wakes up early and makes a breakfast quiche for the house and leaves the oven on warm with a note on the coffee pot that read: quiche in oven save me a piece. He was nervous about the results. What if it was cancer. What if he was being called in because his cancer was at an advanced stage? He smoked two cigarettes in the SUV before getting out and checking in.  
"Jonny Frost, I'm here for my results." He says to the clinic's receptionist.  
"Alright, I'll let him know you're here." She says with a warm smile. When he turned he was met with every pair of eyes in the clinic waiting area. It was a surreal moment that gave him a burst of anxiety. Coughing a bit he finds a seat and focuses on looking through a gun catalog magazine they had.  
"Mr. Frost?" A nurse calls, and Jonny puts the magazine down and stands. "Right this way, we'll get your weight." She says. He was down two pounds since last visit. Jonny thought that was strange. After she took his vitals he was left alone in the room and its loud silence. He popped his lips a few times and then flipped through a Home and Garden magazine for a while before texting Adeline.  
>Hey you up?  
Yeah just woke up<  
>I'm nervous  
Your test results came in?<  
>yes  
>the clinic is packed so  
I got to wait a while  
the quiche is amazing btw<  
>thanks  
That was when the doctor knocked and came in. Jonny pocketed his phone and gave the doctor a smile of knowing regret and feigned kindness, which the doctor returned.  
"Your biopsy results came in." He says, sitting down. "You have metastatic non small cell lung cancer. Stage four." He sighs. "Now, I know that's a lot to take in but there are some treatments for it. With treatment you may live five more years." He says softly.  
"And without treatment?" Jonny asks.  
"Two to four months." He frowns. "But treatment is your best option here." The doctor says.  
"What does metastatic mean?" Jonny asks.  
"It means the cancer is capable of spreading to other parts of your body like your brain or other organs." The doctor explains.  
"Is that why I might have been having headaches." Jonny asks.  
"Yes, that could be a cause of it." The doctor nods. Jonny goes silent. So he had four months to live at the most without treatment and five with. Either way he was going to die. He thought about what chemo would do to him. Make him bald...sick...weak...and thin. Just stretching out his numbered days didn't sound like a good idea to him. "I understand this is hard, would you like to call someone to be with you?" The doctor asks.  
"No..." Jonny says, his voice a bit hollow. "Is that all?" He asks.  
"That's all." The doctor nods, putting a hand on Jonny's shoulder. "Are you religious?" He asks.  
"Catholic." He answers.  
"Mind if I pray with you?" The doctor asks.  
"I don't mind." He says softly, staring at the floor.  
"Lord, I lift up to you Jonny Frost in his time of need. Please send your loving grace to help him through this difficult time, Lord. Help him to accept his numbered days Lord and to rejoice in gladness when he meets you in heaven. Please be with Jonny's friends and family in this time of need and show them your loving grace through the memories they shared with Jonny. Amen." The doctor says.  
"Amen..." Jonny barely whispers. Clearing his throat he leaves the clinic in a sort of daze. Once he was in the SUV he worked on autopilot. Starting the car, buckling up, lighting a smoke and then rolling down the window. He wasn't sure how he got home but before he knew it he was sitting in the driveway with the engine idling and him in park. His cheeks felt stiff as though he had been crying. Putting out his cigarette he rubbed his cheeks and sniffled before heading inside. Everyone looked so happy and carefree and here he was carrying the cinderblock that was cancer the bomb to break the unity of the house. Adeline's smile faded when she saw the long face on Jonny. He looked shellshocked.  
"Jonny, is everything okay?" She asks, a worried tone to her voice. He doesn't respond. Instead he heads into the kitchen and microwaves his piece of quiche. Standing there and staring at the plate as it went round and round he sniffles a bit and rubs his nose. "Jonny?" She asks from the door frame to the kitchen.  
"I'm fine." He assures her with a hollow tone to his voice. "For now at least." He says, lifting his head slightly. Sitting down at the table with his hot quiche he forks it a half dozen times before actually eating a bite. "Two months." Jonny frowns as he chews the flavorless egg pie. He couldn't taste anything past the heat of the food.  
"What?" Adeline asks, not having heard what he said.  
"I have two months at least." He repeats a bit louder. Adeline's heart fell. Hearing that news made her hesitate to share her news. "Or five with treatment." He adds.  
"Oh, well that's good. You can get some treatment, maybe it will go away." She says with cheer.  
"It metastatic." He says. "Spreads around in my body." He says hollowly, eating another bite of quiche, this time he tastes it.  
"Well, there's still treatment for it, right?" She asks, Jonny shrugs.  
"I think I'm going to go take a nap." He sighs, dropping his fork in his plate he stands so suddenly the chair falls back with a loud BANG! Ignoring the chair he heads upstairs and closes his door softly. Collapsing on his bed he cries silently until he passes out.


End file.
